The Role of Nutrition Label among Malaysian Consumer

16 Pages·2017·0.98 MB·English

by  Hassan Danial

The Role of Nutrition Label among Malaysian Consumer: A
Preliminary Review

Zuraidah Zainol, Rusliza Yahaya, Juliana Osman, Nor Asiah Omar, Mohamad
Rohieszan Ramdan, Nurul Fadly Habidin

To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i4/4143 DOI:10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i4/4143

Received: 27 Feb 2018, Revised: 21 March 2018, Accepted: 05 April 2018

Published Online: 28 April 2018

In-Text Citation: (Zainol et al., 2018)
To Cite this Article: Zainol, Z., Yahaya, R., Osman, J., Omar, N. A., Ramdan, M. R., & Habidin, N. F. (2018). The Role
of Nutrition Label among Malaysian Consumer: A Preliminary Review. International Journal of Academic
Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(4), 1031–1046.

Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute,
translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full
attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen
at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, Pg. 1031 - 1046
http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/IJARBSS JOURNAL HOMEPAGE

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/publication-ethics
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS

The Role of Nutrition Label among Malaysian
Consumer: A Preliminary Review

Zuraidah Zainol, Rusliza Yahaya, Juliana Osman
Faculty of Management and Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, MALAYSIA

Nor Asiah Omar
Faculty of Economics and Management, National University of Malaysia, MALAYSIA

Mohamad Rohieszan Ramdan, Nurul Fadly Habidin
Faculty of Management and Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, MALAYSIA

Abstract
This paper seeks to identify the role of the nutrition label, particularly on the use and
attitude in the context of Malaysian consumer. Specifically, this paper provides the
definitions of the nutrition label, nutrition label use and nutrition label attitude, and describe
the potential antecedent and outcome of nutrition label use and attitude obtained from
previous research. This is a content analysis involving relevant articles that were identified
using both electronic and manual bibliographic search methods. Overall, it was revealed of
the lack of empirical evidence on the role of the nutrition label, particularly on the consumer
use and attitude in developing countries including Malaysia. The health knowledge has been
frequently tested as the antecedent of nutrition label use and attitude, while healthy food
choice as the outcome variable. This study provides one of the few attempts to identify,
consolidate, and evaluate the extant literature on the nutrition label in the context of
Malaysia. Hence, it provides a reference point that could stimulate and guide future research
on the nutrition label.
Keywords: Nutrition Label, Healthy Food Choice, Attitudes, Nutrition Label Use

Introduction
Advances in food technology have resulted in an abundance of processed foods to be available
in the market (Bosman, Merwe, Ellis, Jerling, & Badham, 2014). Although processed foods bring
more harms than goods, given a hectic life that society is facing, avoiding from consuming
processed food seems impossible (Tee, 2011). Realizing the threat from the processed food
consumption, the global and local policymakers have put forward the consumer health
1032
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
protection as their major concern (Onete, Voinea, Filip, & Dina, 2014). In order to protect the
consumer rights, Weatherill (2013) and; Chapman and Liberman (2005) emphasize that
consumer should be given the right information on the content of the food product.
As to provide the nutrition content of food products and assist the consumers to make informed
decisions while purchasing a product, it was highlighted the significant role of nutrition label
(Campos, Doxey, & Hammond, 2011; K. Grunert & Wills, 2007; K. G. Grunert, Wills, & Fernández-
Celemín, 2010). In relation to that, the Ministry of Health Malaysia gazetted amendments to Food
Regulations 1985 in 2003 (The Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), 2009) and made the nutrition
label as compulsory in Malaysia. Due to that, the food manufacturers in Malaysia are obliged to
provide the nutritional benefits of their food product (Suhor, Yusoff, Ismail, Aziz, & Razman,
2014). While the food manufacturers have made a move to provide factual, clear, and relevant
information about food nutrition, which satisfy the consumers’ rights to be properly informed
(Owen, 2014), it has been argued that the consumers themselves have failed to exercise their
right, particularly by not using the nutrition label in making healthier food choices (Bosman, et
al., 2014; Brownell et al., 2010).
Accordingly, this paper seeks to identify the role of the nutrition label, particularly on the use
and attitude in the context of Malaysian consumer. Specifically, this paper provides the
definitions of the nutrition label, nutrition label use and nutrition label attitude, and describe
the potential antecedent and outcome of nutrition label use and attitude obtained from
previous research. The study seeks to identify, synthesize, and evaluate extant research on
the nutrition label, particularly in Malaysia, with the ultimate aim of unveiling how
consumers’ right can be properly protected through nutrition label education and promotion.
Specifically, it aims to focus on the definitions of the nutrition label, and discussion on the
role of nutrition label to promote healthy food choices.

Nutrition Label
According to Koe (1997), nutrition label can be defined as a description used to inform the
customer about the nutritional properties of food that helps the customer in purchasing
nutritious food and consuming nutritionally balanced meals (Azman & Sahak, 2014). According
to Malaysia Dietary Guidelines, nutrition label is a list of the nutrient level of a product displayed
on the food label (The Ministry of Health, 2013). In addition, nutrition label refers to the
information about the nutrition content of individual food products in order to enable the
customers to choose the nutritionally appropriate food (K. Grunert & Wills, 2007, p. 385). Miller
and Cassady (2015) explain nutrition label as a label that contains information on calorie, portion
size, and daily value from a few macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals such as fat, carbohydrate,
and calcium.
Hawkes (2013) highlights that nutrition label plays an important role as guidance to a better diet
and a healthier life. In particular, it helps the consumers to choose healthier diets, stimulate the
consumption of the healthy product, switch consumption from 'unhealthy' products toward
'healthy' products more easily, and make an informed judgement of a product's overall value
(Azman & Sahak, 2014). According to Souiden, Abdelaziz and Fauconnier (2013), nutrition label
is important on three main reasons, i.e. to give clear nutrition information, help consumers to
make a decision on certain food and good eating habits, and avoid consumer confusion over the
nutrition of food products. Besides, Department of Chemistry Malaysia (2016) stress that
1033
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
nutrition label is important to protect the consumer from health hazard and fraud in the
preparation, selling, and usage of certain food. It also gives advantages to the local food industry
in order to expand their product’s profile to the international crowd (Aschemann-Witzel, de
Hooge, & Normann, 2016).
It has been reported that the usage of nutrition label is high among consumers in developed
countries, particularly the United Kingdom (UK) (K. G. Grunert, et al., 2010), but still at a low level
in developing countries (Ambak et al., 2014; K. Grunert & Wills, 2007). In Malaysia, there is no
exception. Based on the limited empirical evidence on the utilization of the nutrition label,
although consumers in Malaysia are aware of the importance of nutrition label, they rarely use
the nutrition label even during purchasing processed food products (Azman & Sahak, 2014;
Darkwa, 2014; Kumar & Ali, 2011; Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2013; Norazlanshah et al., 2013;
Rose, 2012). As to promote the nutrition label use among Malaysian consumer, the Ministry of
Health Malaysia has revised the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (MDG) in 2010 (Ministry of Health
Malaysia, 2011). Accordingly, the consumer is encouraged to use the nutrition label when buying
and consuming processed foods (Yasin, Ahmad, Nordin, Ghazali, & Abdullah, 2015).
Up to now, much research has been conducted to investigate the role of the nutrition label since
1995 (Drichoutis, Lazaridis, & Nayga Jr, 2006; K. Grunert & Wills, 2007). Most of the studies have
been focusing on the understanding of the consumer behaviour toward the use of nutrition label
(Bosman, et al., 2014; Madhvapaty & Singh, 2014). Since 2005, more and more studies have
attempted to address the effect of nutrition label on consumer behaviours, particularly on
purchase intention (Burton, Howlett, & Tangari, 2009; Godwin, Speller-Henderson, & Thompson,
2006; Norazlanshah, et al., 2013; Prathiraja & Ariyawardana, 2003).
In Malaysian context, few studies have investigated the impact of consumers’ health knowledge,
use of nutrition label and attitude towards nutrition label on their healthy food choice (Ju et al.,
2010; Ng et al., 2015; Norazmir, Norazlanshah, Naqieyah, & Anuar, 2012; Zheng, Xu, & Wang,
2011). What is more, the previous studies have been concentrating to determine the impact of
the nutrition label usage, while neglecting the role of health knowledge and attitude towards
nutrition labelling (Norazlanshah, et al., 2013). Moreover, the research on the effect of
consumers’ health knowledge, use of nutrition label and attitude towards nutrition label in a
single framework has been scarce (Cooke & Papadaki, 2014).

Consumerism and Nutrition Label
Consumerism is a free-trade system used by consumers in making a decision on products or
services (Lee, Pant, & Ali, 2010). According to O'Hara (2013) and; Oko and Linus (2013),
consumerism can be defined as a social movement done by consumers, government or non-
profit organization to protect the consumers’ rights and power towards products or services.
Furthermore, consumerism is an aspect and activity that leads to concerns over the protection
of consumers’ rights in the market (Kehinde, 2016; Njuguna, 2015). Consumer right is the actions
and policies that ensure the availability of quality goods and services to the consumers (Aggrawal,
2014). In this research, consumerism can be defined as activities done by consumers,
government, or non-profit organization to protect and safeguard the consumer interest and
rights towards quality products or services (Aggrawal, 2014; Kehinde, 2016; Njuguna, 2015;
O'Hara, 2013; Oko & Linus, 2013).
1034
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
Consumers’ rights protection refers to protecting consumers from being victimised by the
suppliers’ fraud, cheating and unfair conduct (Beekman, 2008; Jacobs, Stoop, & Van Niekerk,
2010). According to Howells and Watson (2012), consumers’ rights protection is a form of
preservation done by the government towards consumers during products or services
purchasing. Furthermore, consumers’ rights protection is defined as supervision steps by the
government to supervise and care for consumers interests during products or services purchasing
from suppliers (Onete, et al., 2014). Consumer right protection is the protection against dishonest
suppliers by the government (Aggrawal, 2014).Therefore, in this research, consumers’ rights
protection is referred as the preservation, supervision and care made by the government to
protect the consumer from suppliers’ unfair conduct, particularly during the consumer
purchasing process (Aggrawal, 2014; Beekman, 2008; Hall, et al., 2012; Jacobs, et al., 2010;
Onete, et al., 2014).
According to the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism of Malaysia (2017),
consumers are protected by eight rights and one of them is the right to obtain information. In
relation to that, food suppliers are obligated to put in a clear fact and relevant nutrition
information on the food packaging (Hamid, Pauzai, Nong, & Aishah, 2011; Suhor, et al., 2014).
While all the consumer rights are incorporated in the constitution, it would be useless if the
consumers failed to exercise their rights. Hence, when the provider has taken the responsibility
to provide nutrition information on the label, the consumer should feel obligated to fully use the
nutrition label (Brownell, et al., 2010). That is, in buying goods and services, consumers should
make an effort to read and understand the nutrition label (Harun, Ahmad, & Markom, 2016). By
doing so, the consumer can exercise the right to be informed, while protect their other rights i.e.
rights to get safe products and services (Campos, et al., 2011).
In the Malaysian context, consumers rights are also protected under the Consumers’ Protection
Act 1999 (APP) (Pesuruhjaya Penyemak Undang-undang, 2006). Those acts ensure consumer to
have access to quality products and services (Zakuan & Yusoff, 2011). What is more, chapters V
of APP 1999 outlines seven implied guarantees on good supply, in which one of them highlighted
issues pertaining to the quality standard on the good by the manufacturer (Pesuruhjaya
Penyemak Undang-undang, 2006). Through the use of the label, the consumer can determine
whether the nature and condition of the good are acceptable or not by taking into account the
type of products, price, facts on the nutrition label, representation and other aspects stated in
Section 32 (b) APP (Pesuruhjaya Penyemak Undang-undang, 2006).
According to Rezai, Shamsudin, Mohamed and Sook Ann (2014), due to a rapid development in
Malaysia’s economy and an increase of populations, it is critically important to make sure that all
processed food products are safe to consume. A previous study by Latiff et al. (2016) has exposed
that consumerism can protect the consumers in choosing and consuming safe food products. The
findings also emphasize that the use of nutrition label may encourage consumers to make smart
decisions in purchasing healthy food products. However, the study only focuses on the effect of
nutrition label use and does not look into other factors such as attitude towards nutrition label.
Thus, it is vital for a new study to examine the roles of the nutrition label use and attitude towards
the nutrition label in increasing the consumer protection rights in Malaysia.

1035
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
Nutrition Label Use
Nutrition label use can be defined as the ability of an individual to read, understand, identify and
translate the information shown in the graphic a format (chart, graph, table) on the nutrition
label (Rose, 2012). According to Carbone (2013), nutrition label use refers to reading, writing,
speaking, listening and calculating the information on the nutrition label. In Nutbeam model
(2000), the nutrition label use can be classified into functional health use, which refers to a basic
skills to understand health information, knowledge, services and systems; interactive
communication use that relates to communication and social skills to discuss the health issues
and critical health use, which regards to the cognitive and social skills to analyse health
information and make health-based decisions (McCaffery et al., 2013; Smith & Moore, 2012).
Accordingly, in this research, nutrition label use refers to the ability of a person to obtain,
translate, and use the information on the nutrition label (Carbone, 2013; Rose, 2012).
Misra (2007) reveals health knowledge as an insignificant influencer of label reading behaviour.
However, Campos et al., (2011) find out that individuals with lower levels of nutrition knowledge
strongly associated to label non-use, which indicate that individual with greater nutrition
knowledge is more likely to use nutrition label. In addition, Barreiro-Hurlé, Gracia and De-
Magistris (2010) report that by possessing nutrition knowledge, the level of nutrition facts panel
use might significantly increase. This highlights that the consumers who are equipped with
nutrition knowledge are more likely to use their nutrition knowledge, specifically by reading the
nutrition labels while shopping for food products.
Furthermore, Petrovici, Fearne, Nayga Jr and Drolias (2012) reveal nutrition knowledge as a
significant predictor of consumers’ use of nutrition fact information. Along the similar line,
Gracia, Loureiro and Nayga (2007) discover that consumer’s nutrition knowledge positively
influence the nutrition label use when shopping. Miller and Cassady (2015) further highlight that
both subjective and objective nutrition knowledge will significantly influence self–reported
nutrition label use.
Similarly, Cooke and Papadaki (2014) find out that nutrition knowledge significantly predicts the
nutrition label use. However, the effect is negative, indicating that the higher knowledge, the
lower the tendency for the consumer to use nutrition labels. Further, they argue that the
relationship between knowledge and label use may remain negative unless the consumers are
given proper education on the nutrition label. Once nutrition label knowledge improves, only
then, its effect on the usage can be positive. Hence, it could be assumed that the effect of
nutrition knowledge on nutrition label use might be significant, but the direction may be
negative, particularly in societies with a low level of nutrition knowledge.
In the Malaysia context, it has been found that despite high nutrition knowledge, students
seldom use food label during buying food product (Nurliyana, Norazmir, & Anuar, 2011). Besides,
Norazlanshah et al., (2013) highlight that consumers with a higher level of nutrition knowledge
are more likely to read nutrition label when purchasing food. However, both studies failed to
reveal a significant relationship between the level of nutrition knowledge and nutrition label use.
By relating to Cooke and Papadaki (2014), it could be assumed that the results might be due to
the low nutrition knowledge among Malaysian consumers.
In addition, Graham and Laska (2012) and; Barreiro-Hurlé, Gracia and De-Magistris (2010) find
out that nutrition label use significantly and positively predicts the healthy food choice among
consumer. The results indicate that the higher the usage of the nutrition label, the higher the
1036
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
reported healthy food choice. Besides, Campos et al. (2011) show that nutrition label use may
promote healthier eating. Furthermore, Cooke and Papadaki (2014) show that the use of
nutrition label has a significant and negative effect towards dietary quality, indicating that
nutrition label use might not be sufficient to trigger higher dietary quality among consumer. That
is, nutrition label use does not induce the consumer to purchase a healthy food product. In
addition, they emphasize that the effect of nutrition label use on healthy food choice will remain
negative unless the consumer is well-equipped the nutrition knowledge.
In the context of Malaysia, Norazmir et al. (2012) reveal that the nutrition label use is low among
young adults and due to that they have less tendency to choose and purchase healthy food.
Besides, a study conducted by National Health and Morbidity Survey (2015) report the low-level
nutrition label use among Malaysian consumer, which trigger them to choose unhealthy food
and consequently lead to bad health results. Accordingly, it could be expected the significant
relationship between nutrition label use and healthy food choice.

Attitude towards Nutrition Label
Attitude can be defined as a form of mental stability and brain’s nerve of the individual to give a
response (positive or negative) through experience towards an object or idea (Allport, 1935).
Furthermore, attitude is a form of the human inclination to consistently react towards an object
or situation (Banaji & Heiphetz, 2010). According to Soleimani and Hanafi (2013), attitude can be
defined as an evaluation and belief, either positive or negative, towards an object or situation.
Moreover, attitude is defined as the reaction to feeling or impression of an individual, either
happy or sad, which reflected through attitude change (Koller & Walla, 2015). Taking from the
slightly different perspective, Roy and Kareem (2016) relate attitude as a way of thinking by an
individual that is prone to give response positively or negatively towards an idea, object or
situation.
Attitude can be divided into cognitive, affective, and behavioural components (Eagly & Chaiken,
1993). Cognitive component refers to the belief formed based on the information gained from
direct and indirect experience (Harreveld, Nohlen, & Schneider, 2015; Kwon & Vogt, 2010).
Affective component refers to reactions to positive and negative emotional experience or
preferences with object or situation (Schamari & Schaefers, 2015). Behavioural attitudes
component is defined as individual’s overt action toward an object or situation (Amsteus, Olsson,
& Paulsson, 2015). Thus, attitude can be defined as the individual’s belief, emotion and action
that derived from the experience towards an object or situation (Aygen, 2012; Kwon & Vogt,
2010).
Specifically, Cannoosamy, Pugo-Gunsam and Jeewon (2014) define attitude towards nutrition
label as a form of feelings or perception of an individual towards nutrition label, while Samant,
Crandall and Seo (2016) refer attitude towards nutrition label as a form of evaluation in an
individual’s mind that may induce the tendency to use the nutrition label in making food
selection. Hence, attitude towards nutrition label can be explained as individual feelings,
perception and evaluation, either positive or negative, towards nutrition label when purchasing
food products (Cannoosamy, et al., 2014; Graham & Laska, 2012; Samant, et al., 2016).
Aertsens, Mondelaers, Verbeke, Buysse and Van Huylenbroeck (2011) find out that objective and
subjective knowledge significantly and positively influence attitude towards organic food,
1037
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
implying the positive effect of knowledge on attitude. Further, a significant positive correlation
between health knowledge and attitudes towards nutrition labels was reported (Marietta,
Welshimer & Anderson, 1999). Similarly, Kigaru, Loechl, Moleah, Macharia-Mutie and Ndungu
(2015) reveal a significant relationship between nutrition knowledge and attitudes. Along the
similar line, Acheampong and Haldeman (2013) explain that consumers with high nutrition
knowledge are more likely to have positive attitudes about healthy eating. However, a recent
study by Mogre, Aryee, Stevens and Scherpbier (2017) highlight that consumers’ nutrition-
related knowledge does not correlate with their attitudes. Furthermore, Baser, Ture,
Abubakirova, Sanlier and Cil (2016) show that food safety knowledge significantly influences the
attitude of staff working in hotels in Turkey (Baser, et al., 2016). Knowledge has a significant
effect on attitude formation toward genetically modified foods (Zhu & Xie, 2015).
In Malaysia’s context, Sani and Siow (2014) reveal that there is a significant positive correlation
between the food safety knowledge and attitudes, indicating that food safety knowledge level of
food handlers will influence their attitudes in handling food safely. Furthermore, according to
Koo, Lee, Hidayah and Hazwani (2018), there is a positive association between one’s knowledge
and attitude towards whole grain consumption. Thus, the results reveal that both knowledge and
attitudes are significantly related and, health knowledge significantly influences consumer
attitude in a positive direction. Accordingly, it could be assumed that health knowledge serves as
a significant determinant of consumer attitude toward nutrition label.
In addition, previous studies show that consumers’ attitude is very important in making
purchasing decision of food products (Harker, Gunson, & Jaeger, 2003; Magnusson & Hursti,
2002; Schifferstein, 2001). Graham and Laska (2012) also emphasize that the attitude towards
preparing healthy food is significant when consuming healthy foods. Furthermore, Costell,
Tárrega, & Bayarri (2010) point out that the consumer attitude affects their choices of healthy
food. Cooke and Papadaki (2014) support the findings by revealing that attitude plays a significant
role in practising healthy diet and a positive attitude towards nutrition label induce the consumer
to choose healthy food (Cooke & Papadaki, 2014). Similarly, Trendel and Werle (2015) show that
attitude does have a significant influence on the consumer’s tendency to make healthy food
choices.
Despite lack of previous studies on the consumers’ attitudes towards nutrition label use,
particularly in Malaysia, a study by Ng et al. (2015) indicates that a poor attitude towards
nutrition labels are less likely to induce healthy food choices. That is, poor attitude towards
nutrition label make the consumer to act irrationally and consequently lead to unhealthy food
choices (Ng, et al., 2015). Similarly, Alam and Sayuti (2011) stress that attitude significantly and
positively affects the consumer food purchase intentions. Hence, it can be predicted that the
attitude towards nutrition label may have a significant effect on the consumers’ tendency in
choosing healthy food.

Nutrition Label Use Model (NLUM)
NLUM had been developed by Cooke and Papadaki (2014). In this model, nutrition knowledge,
attitude towards healthy eating and nutrition label use were predicted to positively affect healthy
eating behaviours (Rasberry, Chaney, Housman, Misra, & Miller, 2007). Specifically, an individual
that has a vast nutrition knowledge and favourable attitude towards healthy eating is more keen
1038
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
to practice healthy eating (Graham & Laska, 2012; Kearney et al., 2001; Parmenter & Wardle,
1999). Furthermore, nutrition label use acted as a mediator relationship between nutrition
knowledge and attitude towards healthy eating in the healthy eating habits (Graham & Laska,
2012; Kearney, et al., 2001; Nelson & Lytle, 2009; Parmenter & Wardle, 1999). The findings of
previous research’s showed that nutrition knowledge had a positive relationship on the nutrition
label use (Figure 2.2) (Grunert, G, Shepherd, Traill, & Wold, 2012; Guthrie, Fox, Cleveland, &
Welsh, 1995; Li, Miniard, & Barone, 2000; Misra, 2007; Rasberry, et al., 2007).

Conclusion
Due to the abundance of processed foods available in the market and a hectic lifestyle, it is
impossible for the society to avoid consuming processed food. Realizing processed foods bring
more harms than goods; the global and local policymakers have put forward the consumer health
protection as their major concern. Considering the significance of the nutrition label to promote
healthy food choice, consumers are forced to use the nutrition label effectively while purchasing
food products. However, to date, it has been raised on the low nutrition label use, particularly
among consumer in developing countries. Thus, it is crucial to investigate the role of nutrition
label use and attitude to influence the healthy food choice and consequently serve as a
mechanism to protect the consumer right.
This review has clearly shown that nutrition label holds an important position in promoting
healthy food choice. The review also puts forward of a very few studies on this topic that have
been conducted in the developing countries, including Malaysia. The review provides a literature
review on the nutrition label, nutrition label use and nutrition label attitude and highlights the
potential antecedents and outcomes of nutrition label use and attitude obtained from previous
research. In particular, as to determine the role of nutrition label in Malaysia, the effect of health
knowledge on nutrition label use and attitude, and consequently on healthy food choice should
be considered. The results of this review will add to the existing literatures on the roles of
nutrition label in in guiding the consumer to make healthier food choice (Cheong, Kaur, Lim, Ho,
& Mohmad, 2013; Ju, et al., 2010; Norazlanshah, et al., 2013; Norazmir, et al., 2012; Nurliyana,
et al., 2011).

Acknowledgement
Funding support for this manuscript was provided by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia
(MOHE), under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) [Research code: 2016-0088-106-02
(FRGS/1/2016/SS01/UPSI/03/1)]

Corresponding Author
Zuraidah Zainol, Faculty of Management and Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris,
Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected].

References
Abdul Latiff, Z. A. B., Rezai, G., Mohamed, Z., & Ayob, A. M. (2016). Food labels’ impact
assessment on consumer purchasing behavior in Malaysia. Journal of Food Products
Marketing, 22(2), 137-146. doi: 10.1080/10454446.2013.856053
1039
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS
Acheampong, I., & Haldeman, L. (2013). Are nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs
associated with obesity among low-income Hispanic and African American women
caretakers? Journal of Obesity, 2013(1), 1-8. doi: 10.1155/2013/123901
Aertsens, J., Mondelaers, K., Verbeke, W., Buysse, J., & Van Huylenbroeck, G. (2011). The
influence of subjective and objective knowledge on attitude, motivations and
consumption of organic food. British Food Journal, 113(11), 1353-1378.
Aggrawal, A. (2014). International Conference on Management of Globalized Business: Emerging
Perspectives. India: Lulu.com.
Allport, G. W. (1935). Attitudes: A Handbook of Social Psychology, Worcester, Mass. Clark
University Press. Anderson, JC, & Gerbing, DW (1988). Structural equation modeling in
practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3),
411.
Ambak, R., Naidu, B. M., Omar, M. A., Zaki, N. A. M., Sallehuddin, S. M., & Aris, T. (2014). Food
label reading and understanding among obese adults: a population study in Malaysia.
International Journal of Public Health Research, 4(2), 449-456.
Amsteus, M., Olsson, H., & Paulsson, R. (2015). The Scent of a Successful Venue:(In) Congruent
Scent and Consumer Attitude towards a Café. International Journal of Business and Social
Science, 6(5), 232-243.
Aschemann-Witzel, J., de Hooge, I., & Normann, A. (2016). Consumer-Related Food Waste: Role
of Food Marketing and Retailers and Potential for Action. Journal of International Food &
Agribusiness Marketing, 28(3), 271-285.
Aygen, F. G. (2012). Turkish consumers' understanding and use of nutrition labels on packaged
food products. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(6), 171-183.
Azman, N., & Sahak, S. Z. (2014). Nutritional Label and Consumer Buying Decision: A Preliminary
Review. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 130, 490-498. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.057
Banaji, M. R., & Heiphetz, L. (2010). Attitudes. Hoboken: John Wiley.
Barreiro-Hurlé, J., Gracia, A., & De-Magistris, T. (2010). Does nutrition information on food
products lead to healthier food choices? Food Policy, 35(3), 221-229.
Baser, F., Ture, H., Abubakirova, A., Sanlier, N., & Cil, B. (2016). Structural modeling of the
relationship among food safety knowledge, attitude and behavior of hotel staff in Turkey.
Food Control, 73(2016), 438-444. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.08.032
Beekman, V. (2008). Consumer rights to informed choice on the food market. Ethical Theory and
Moral Practice, 11(1), 61-72.
Bosman, M. J., Merwe, D. V. d., Ellis, S. M., Jerling, J. C., & Badham, J. (2014). South African adult
metropolitan consumers' opinions and use of health information on food labels. British
Food Journal, 116(1), 30-43.
Brownell, K. D., Kersh, R., Ludwig, D. S., Post, R. C., Puhl, R. M., Schwartz, M. B., & Willett, W. C.
(2010). Personal responsibility and obesity: a constructive approach to a controversial
issue. Health Affairs, 29(3), 379-387.
Burton, S., Howlett, E., & Tangari, A. H. (2009). Food for Thought: How Will the Nutrition Labeling
of Quick Service Restaurant Menu Items Influence Consumers' Product Evaluations,
Purchase Intentions, and Choices? Journal of Retailing, 85(3), 258-273. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2009.04.007
1040